Glasses
by SJ 9112
Summary: When Charlie starts to experience problems with his vision, it's up to Lee to help his son get to the top of his class by proving that sometimes even superheroes wear glasses.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm home!" Lee called, closing the door and hanging his coat up in the alcove.

"Daddy!" Molly shouted as she barrelled into him. She stretched her arms over her head and hopped up and down impatiently, waiting for her father to lift her into his arms.

Lee chuckled and hoisted her against his shoulder, smiling at her in confusion. "Steady on, princess. What's got you so excited to see me tonight?"

"No reason. I just love you _so _much!" Molly linked her arms around her father's neck and kissed his cheek. "You're the best daddy in the entire world!"

"Aw." Lee cocked his head knowingly. "What do you want?"

"Well, Amelia from my ballet class is having a harvest party at her uncle's house out in the country this Saturday. Everyone else who's been invited is already picking out their costumes, but when she gave me my invitation, she said I'd be too scared to go. The house is supposed to be haunted, and she didn't want her party ruined by babies like me. But I'm not a baby. I'm seven years old. And Mummy said I could only go to the party if you said it was okay. You'll let me go, won't you, Daddy?"

Lee blinked. "Right. Well…"

"Oh, _please, _Daddy?" Her face crumpled pleadingly, her bright hazel eyes large and round. She squeezed his neck even tighter, pushing out her lower lip piteously.

He sighed, nearly coming undone at the sight of his beautiful daughter's sad expression. "Of course I will. We can't let that witch Amelia think you're scared." He clasped her tighter and smiled. "What's more, you tell your mum to help you pick out the scariest costume you can find. I want all those brats to know Molly McKinnon is the life of the party. Amelia's going to rue the day she called my daughter a scaredy-cat!"

"Yay!" Molly wriggled in his arms, impatient to be put down. He carefully stooped down and released her, watching her run off into the kitchen just as Benji appeared from behind the stairs and chased after her.

"No fair! Why do you get to go to a haunted house?" He shouted, reaching out to catch at his sister's shirt.

They both nearly collided with their mother, who'd just appeared at the kitchen threshold. The twins sharply checked their speed and darted around her, sprinting out into the garden.

"Don't get too dirty! Dinner's nearly ready!" Lucy called to their retreating backs. Shaking her head, she turned back around to face her husband. "Well, I see you've fallen victim to Molly's charms once again."

Lee shrugged helplessly. "I know, but I didn't see any harm in it."

"For now, maybe. What are you going to do when she starts begging you for things like a moped, or a nose piercing, or a night over at her boyfriend's house?"

Lee shuddered and shot her an appealing smile. "Start crying and hope her mean old mum says no?"

"Gee, thanks." Lucy folded her arms. "Are you sure she's old enough to attend a party like this by herself?"

"What, you don't think the place is really haunted, do you?"

"Of course not!" Lucy shook her head. "But that's not going to keep Amelia and her friends from trying to scare the living daylights out of all the younger kids. I attended my share of harvest parties and I know how they go."

"Don't you worry about Molly." He nodded past her to the open garden door, where the girl could be seen now chasing after her brother. "Like her mum, she can give as good as she gets."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Just go get dressed and washed up, will you?"

Lee turned towards the staircase just as Charlie finished descending from his room, bookbag in tow. He smiled at the boy. "Hey, son."

Charlie walked past him, his eyes trained on the floor. He offered nothing more than a monosyllabic grunt as he morosely passed through into the kitchen.

Lee frowned at Lucy. "What's up with him?"

"I don't know. He's been like that ever since he got home from school. I tried asking him about it, but all he said was something about presentations."

"Presentations?"

Lucy sighed. "Charlie's class are doing a unit on superheroes. They've been reading all the stories about heroes in classical mythology, like Hercules and Beowulf. This week, they're supposed to prepare an essay on their all-time favourite superhero to present to the class. Everyone has to dress up as the hero they've chosen and give the reasons why they're the best superhero in front of the parents at the autumn assembly this Friday night."

Lee closed his eyes and groaned. "Autumn assembly already?"

"Yes. And yes, you do have to come with me." Lucy held up a finger. "I'm not sitting through thirty kids in fancy dress reading their essay papers by myself. Besides, it will be cute to see all the ideas they come up with." She beamed. "There's even going to be a special prize for the best presentation, and you know what an excellent writer Charlie is."

Lee arched a brow, intrigued. "Oh? What's the prize?"

"A brand-new Kindle Fire. For reading all their assignments, of course, and totally not for surfing the internet and playing tablet games." Lucy smiled knowingly.

"And who's going to be judging them?"

"A real-life superhero – one of the Grenfell Tower first responders."

"Blimey." Lee nodded, impressed.

Lucy gestured over her shoulder. "Why don't you go talk to him really quick before you wash up? Charlie thinks the world of you. Maybe he'll be more willing to open up to his dad."

"All right." Lee sighed and slowly headed towards the kitchen. "I hope it's not girl trouble, or anything."

"Please. When has a day passed that girls have _not _given you two trouble?" Lucy teased.

Lee rolled his eyes and disappeared into the next room. He saw Charlie hunched over his notebook on the table, scribbling furiously. Lee pulled out the dining chair next to him and tentatively took a seat. "Mind if I join you?"

Charlie shook his head, not looking up from his work.

"Working on your essay?"

Charlie momentarily paused, shooting his dad an inquisitive look.

"Your mum told me about the autumn assembly."

"Oh. No," Charlie replied, turning back to his paper.

"Do you know who you're going to write about yet?"

Charlie shrugged. He hunched closely over the table, blinking fervently.

Lee huffed in frustration. "Come on, son. I know something's up. You aren't having any problems with Izzy, are you?"

"No." Charlie quickly shook his head. "She's busy writing her essay. She's giving hers on Supergirl."

"Right." Lee nodded. "Do you know what anyone else is doing?"

"Jake McKenzie's going to be Cristiano Ronaldo." Charlie rolled his eyes.

"Ronaldo?" Lee frowned. "He's not a superhero."

"He is if you're a Manchester United fan like Jake and his dad."

Lee shook his head. "I should've pegged him for a United prat, being a literal devil and all."

"I don't know who I'm doing yet, but I'm sure I'll think of something." Charlie slid a slip of paper towards his father, the top part of which was covered by other papers sitting on top. "So can you just sign off on my paper that I have to hand in for the assembly?"

Lee's brow furrowed. "Why is your class making the parents sign off on your essay topics?" He reached to pull the paper out from the stack, but Charlie quickly slammed his hand down on top of it.

"I don't know, they just do! Can you just sign it, please?"

"Let me see that paper, son. Something's not adding up here." Lee tugged at the sheet. Charlie frowned back at him defiantly, refusing to lift his hand.

"Just…sign…it," he growled.

"I'm not signing anything until I read it!" Lee met his son's gaze and held it. "I promise, whatever it is, that I won't get mad at you. I know it's tough. I didn't like making my mum sign off on all my detention slips when I was in school."

Tears burned in the corners of Charlie's eyes, which he quickly blinked away. Looking down in resignation, he sat back and released the stack of papers. "I wish it was just a detention slip," he muttered.

Lee pulled out the paper, burning with curiosity. He silently read the brief message before slowly looking over at his son. "Charlie…your teacher says you're having trouble reading the board in class. Is that true?"

"No!" Charlie crossed his arms. "I could read the board if I wanted to!"

"Then why don't you?"

Charlie shrugged sullenly.

"I guess they won't find any problems, then, if we take you to an optometrist like your teacher recommends?"

"No! Please, don't!" Charlie leapt to his feet. "Just sign it and let me give it back! Forget you ever read it!"

"Forget?! How can I forget that me own son is going blind?!" Lee angrily raised his voice, standing to loom over the boy. "How long has this been going on? How long have you been keeping this from us?"

Charlie ducked his head and darted out of the room. He brushed past his mother and raced up the stairs before slamming his bedroom door shut.

Lee, who'd followed him out, stood at the base of the stairs. "You stay up there until you're ready to give me some answers, young man! And consider yourself grounded indefinitely! No friends, no PlayStation, no YouTube, and no pudding! You hear me?!"

"What did he do? What did he say?" Lucy asked anxiously, coming up behind Lee. "What's going on?"

Lee thrust the note at his wife. "I don't know. You tell me!"

Lucy quickly scanned the message and closed her eyes. "Oh, God…"

"Did you know about this?!"

"I had my suspicions…Charlie has been blinking and squinting an awful lot lately, but I didn't think much of it." Lucy bit her lip.

"You didn't think much of it?! Lucy, why didn't you say something earlier?!" Lee cried, regarding her with incredulous rage.

"I didn't know it was affecting his classwork!" Lucy frowned at him defiantly. "And will you calm down?! It's not that big a deal!"

"Not that big a deal?! What if he has myopia? Who knows how much damage he's already done?!"

"Then we'll buy him a pair of glasses!" She forcefully took her husband's arm and led him over to the sofa. She thrust him down on the seat and glowered over him. "_You _have myopia. It's a very common condition. We shouldn't be surprised that Charlie has it, too."

"Exactly. I'm responsible for this." Lee dropped his head in his hands, his voice suddenly very small. "I was even Charlie's age when my eyesight started going off. I don't need to tell you what happened when I suddenly showed up at the schoolyard one day in a pair of NHS frames."

Lucy sat down next to him. "You weren't bullied over your glasses, were you?"

Lee lifted his head to shoot her a disgusted look. "Come off it, Lucy. You know the names and rhymes as well as I do. They never change." He gazed down at his hands. "I heard them all. Day in, day out. That's when I started being funny at school and not just at home. I had to do something to make it stop. I figured out that if I beat them to the punchline, they had nothing left."

Lucy smiled. "See? You found a way to cope with it."

"Yeah. It was miserable, though." He sighed. "It's bad enough that I had to go through it. And now I've passed my terrible eyesight on to my son."

Lucy rested her head on his shoulder and stroked his arm. "There's no need to feel guilty, Lee. Believe me, if I'd really cared about a few bad genes, you wouldn't have any children at all."

"You really know how to comfort someone, you know that?" Lee drawled sarcastically, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

Lucy warmed at his cheerier expression. "You can't argue with the results, though, can you?" She nuzzled his neck and kissed his whiskered jaw. "Most people have to wear lenses at least some of the time, if not all of the time. It doesn't stop them from living fulfilling lives. It certainly didn't stop you from having friends, or girlfriends, or jobs…" She bussed the corner of his mouth again. "…or from finding the love of your life."

"Yeah, but you didn't know just how bad my eyes were when we met. I knew how to hide it by then. I didn't own my first pair of contact lenses until after I'd left school. And even now, my eyes are drying out at such a rate that I'm having to wear the specs more and more."

"You don't hear me complaining, do you?"

Lee flushed. "Quite the opposite, actually." He looked down at her and patted her hand. "But I'm an old man. Old men are supposed to be nearly blind. It's different when you're a kid."

"Charlie's lucky to have you for a father, then. He's got the benefit of your experience. You can help him out, give him advice, warn him what's to come. _And _you know exactly how he's feeling."

"Yeah." Lee looked down abashedly, feeling terrible for the way he'd lashed out at Charlie earlier. "I should probably go talk to him now."

"Good idea." She gave him a quick kiss and stood, disentangling herself from him. "In the meantime, I'll finish getting dinner ready, round up the twins, and call your optometrist to book Charlie in for an appointment."

Lee winced. "I guess Charlie's vision isn't the only thing that's about to double."


	2. Chapter 2

Lee rapped his knuckles on his son's door before tentatively turning the knob and stepping inside. "Charlie?"

The boy lay curled up on his bed, facing the wall. He didn't turn his head when Lee entered the room.

"Look, son…" Lee aimlessly shuffled the items in his hand, standing next to the bed. He'd made a couple of quick trips to the master bedroom and bathroom to grab a few things before coming in to Charlie's room. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that."

Still no response.

"I know you're angry. And you've a right to be. I just…panicked. You can't keep something so important like that from us. It could really screw up your health. And your grades at school. We just want what's best for you, Charlie." Lee's brow furrowed at his son's unresponsive form. "Charlie?" He leaned forward over the bed and shouted, "Charlie!"

The boy stirred, pulling an earbud from his ear. Loud rock music blared tinnily from the speaker. "What? Oh. Hi, Dad," he grumbled.

Lee huffed in annoyance as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "Shut that off."

"So being grounded means I can't have music, too?" Charlie tossed the iPod aside and sat up on the bed, turning stonily towards his father.

"You're not grounded." Lee sighed. "I overreacted downstairs. I was just…upset that you didn't want to share that paper with us."

"I know." Charlie looked down at his comforter.

"The important thing is, we know now and we can do something about it. Your mum's setting up the appointment with the optometrist as we speak."

The boy suddenly met Lee's gaze, his look pleading. "Please don't make me go. I don't want to wear glasses."

Lee shot him a sympathetic smile. "You have to be able to see, son."

"But I'll look like a total div!" Charlie folded his arms. "My friends won't want to be seen with me. I'll have to sit at the _loser _table in the cafeteria with all the other anoraks!"

"Is that what you're worried about? That wearing glasses will make you uncool?"

Charlie looked away and gave a tiny nod.

"Do you think I'm uncool?"

The boy shot Lee a weird look. "Of course you're uncool. You're my dad."

"Fair enough." Lee nodded. "All right, compared to other dads, am I uncool?"

Charlie thought for a moment and shook his head. "You're okay, I guess."

"What if I told you…" Lee turned away and slipped on his spectacles before facing his son again. "…that I wore glasses? Am I uncool now?"

Charlie stared at Lee for a long time. "But…you don't," he finally said.

"Yeah, I do." Lee slid the frames up and down his nose. "These are prescription. I've been wearing glasses for the last forty years."

"But only to read and stuff, right? You don't wear them all the time."

Lee nodded. "All the time. If I'm not looking through a pair of lenses, I'm about as blind as a bat, to be honest. I couldn't even see your face until I put these on just now." He grinned. "I took out my contact lenses before I came in here."

Charlie gave him a tentative smile. "So everything's just a little too fuzzy for you to read, too?"

"It used to be a little. Now it's a lot." Lee shrugged. "That's how myopia works. It tends to get worse the older you get."

"What's myopia?"

"Near-sightedness. It's where you can read the really big letter on the eye chart and not much else." Lee waved a dismissive hand at his son's confused look. "The optometrist can explain it better than I can. So," he clapped his knee, "do you think I'm any more uncool now?"

Charlie thought for a moment and shook his head. "No. Bout the same, really."

"Exactly." Lee pointed a finger at his son. "Wearing glasses doesn't change how cool you are one bit."

"Easy for you to say when you don't have to go to _school,_" Charlie mumbled dejectedly.

"Not any more. But I did." Lee held up the photos in his other hand and passed them to his son. "In fact, I was just about your age when I started wearing glasses."

"No way!" Charlie laughed, studying the pictures. "This is _you?"_

Lee nodded. "Yeah."

"You look like such a geek!"

"I've heard that one before. I've heard them all: geek, nerd, four-eyes, double glazing, gaylord, anorak, div, speccy, blinkers, lame-o, Mr. Magoo, muppet man, jam jars, windows, loser, Wally, paedo, gog eyes, freak, gegs on legs, bike face, you name it, I've heard it."

Charlie cackled and pointed at one of the photos. "What are those?!"

Lee leaned over and smiled. "You know what's sad? I actually thought those new frames would make me look cool. I just look like a welder, don't I?" He thought for a minute. "Smithy, that was another name I got."

Charlie giggled and handed the photos back. "Sorry, Dad. But you were _such _a loser!"

"And these aren't even my most embarrassing pictures." Lee held them up and shook his head. "But I think I've destroyed all photographic evidence of my ever having a perm, so you won't have to see them." He smiled tentatively at Charlie, who was still laughing. "See? You can't possibly look even more uncool than I did, with or without glasses."

Charlie suddenly quieted, his face falling. "But if wearing glasses made you a nerd, that means I'll be a nerd, too. Right?"

"Not unless you pick frames that make you look like a welder." He warmed as he caught the trace of a smile on Charlie's face. "Of course, there'll be kids trying to take the piss. They'll take the piss out of anything that looks different. Don't you remember how Benji's class gave him grief last winter over his new scarf that Grandma Wendy gave him for Christmas?"

"Yeah…" Charlie looked down, embarrassed to think of the times he'd joined in the name-calling. "And just last week, we gave Ellis a new nickname…"

"What for? Different shoes? Braces? A new haircut?"

Charlie met his father's gaze and bit his lip. "He brought a different lunchbox to school."

Lee couldn't help but laugh. "Christ, you lot are cruel!"

Charlie shuddered at the thought of being teased. "I don't stand a chance." He turned back to his dad. "Was it hard for you?"

Lee snorted. "Are you kidding? It was torture every blimmin' day! Gym class was the worst." He regarded his son sadly. "I was what they call a late bloomer, so I was always a bit more…slight…than the other boys my age. Most days in phys ed the bigger boys would take my glasses off me and laugh when I failed to see anything they lobbed at my face."

"What did you do?"

"I played up to it. I'd trip over things and collide with the walls on purpose. It's not as much fun for the bullies if you're in on the joke." Lee shrugged. "I figured they were going to laugh at me anyway, so it was better being for something I did than for how I looked. I started doing impressions, too, so everyone would laugh at my silly voice instead of my silly face. And I learned to be ready for anyone going for a cheap insult. I had all the standard comebacks: 'I know what you are, but what am I?'; 'better work on your delivery, I could see that one coming a mile off'; 'I'm a four-eyed freak, what's your excuse?'; 'I can see so far into the future that you might as well be dead,' and my personal favourite: 'Your nan's bum is so big I can see it without my glasses'!"

Charlie giggled.

"When you get the last laugh, the names don't hurt as much." Lee smiled. "I didn't care anymore if the kids called me speccy and gog eyes and all that. And after a while, everyone started to forget that I used to never wear glasses. It just became a part of who I was."

"And you never lost all your mates or had to sit at the loser table?"

"No." Lee held one of the photos up beside his face. "And if Smithy here can cut the mustard, you'll be just fine."

Charlie reached forward and hugged his father's neck. "Thanks, Dad."

Lee wrapped his arms around the boy and patted his back. "I love you, son."

Lucy appeared in the doorway and bit back a delighted coo at the sight of them. She cleared her throat and smiled. "Everything all right in here?"

The pair separated and Charlie nodded calmly at his mother. "Yes, Mum."

"So you're okay with going to the optometrist tomorrow right after school?"

Charlie gulped nervously and shot his father a glance. Lee gave him a reassuring look. "Yeah. I am."

"Good." Lucy pulled out her mobile. "I haven't called Anna yet. I'll see if she can come take us over on her way home from picking up Jack…"

"Don't worry about it, Luce." Lee clapped a hand on his son's shoulder. "I'll take a half-day at work and drive him over there myself. After all, I was the one who got him into this mess. It's only fair that I get him out."

"Aw, thanks, Lee. That's sweet of you." Lucy pocketed her phone and pointed over her shoulder. "Right. Wash up, you two. Dinner's on the table."


	3. Chapter 3

Lucy looked up from the hob as Benji and Molly burst through the garden door.

"They're here!" Benji cried.

"We saw the car coming up the street!" Molly added breathlessly.

"Right!" Lucy lifted her saucepan off the burner and quickly wiped her hands on a tea towel. She turned to the twins, a stern expression on her face. "Now, remember what I told you. Do not make fun of your brother's new glasses. No laughing, no cheeky comments. We need to be supportive and encouraging." She held up a cling-wrapped plate. "Or else, you two won't split the last Maltesers brownie and Mummy will keep it for herself."

"No!" Benji's eyes widened in alarm.

Molly bounced about anxiously. "We'll be good, we promise!"

The front door opened and Charlie shuffled inside, holding a case in his hands. Lee, wearing his own dark frames, hung his jacket in the alcove and gestured for Charlie to hand him his coat. He'd bypassed the contact lenses today in favour of showing solidarity with his son. When Charlie had seen his father waiting for him in the schoolyard, he'd ducked his head and hustled Lee away from his friends.

"Well? How'd it go?" Lucy strolled into the room, Benji and Molly close on her heels.

"All right. It's myopia, but his vision's not as bad as we thought." Lee turned to Charlie. "Dr. Abida said you'd only need to wear them for reading and tasks that require precision, like operating heavy machinery."

Charlie nodded, looking down at the floor.

"That's fantastic!" Lucy gestured to the case clutched in his hand. "So, you were able to get your glasses then and there?"

"Yup!" Lee clapped his son on the back. "I even helped pick them out. We tried nearly every pair of frames they had, didn't we?"

The boy reddened, clasping the case so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Lucy smiled tentatively. "Can I see them?"

Charlie glared past her at his twin siblings.

"What?!" Molly shouted indignantly.

Benji stomped his foot. "We didn't say anything!"

"Ignore them." Lucy stood in front of them, crossing her arms.

"Go on, son." Lee nodded encouragingly. "Show your mother."

Charlie looked around, feeling trapped. He heaved a reluctant sigh and pulled his glasses from the case, shyly slipping them on. The sleek, rectangular black frames he'd chosen were nearly identical to his father's. Their bold, assertive form utterly transformed his face the moment he hooked them over his ears. A softened, inquisitive boy stared at the pocket of his mother's jeans, unable to look her in the face.

Lucy bit back a sharp gasp. "How smart you look!" She stooped down to try to meet his gaze. Charlie turned his head away, embarrassed. Lucy's heart rose to the back of her throat, brimming with affection. She beamed at him. "I really like your new glasses. They're _very _cool." She glanced over her shoulder at Benji and Molly. "Doesn't your brother look handsome?"

The twins were both staring intently at the floor. "Yeah," Molly murmured sarcastically. Benji unsuccessfully tried to stifle a giggle.

Charlie furiously whipped off his glasses and shut them back up in the case. "I knew it! I'm a total loser!"

"No, you're not!" Lucy grabbed his shoulders and soberly met his gaze. "Trust me, Charlie, you look absolutely fine." She glanced up at her husband. "He didn't give Dr. Abida too much trouble, I hope?"

Lee smiled proudly and shook his head. "No trouble at all. He did everything she asked him to without any mucking about. He even sat still while she dilated his eyes and checked them out with the laser." He swelled. "It's like it was all old hat to him already."

Lucy turned back to Charlie. "It sounds like you've been very brave today." She hugged him to her. Charlie squirmed uncomfortably. She released him and nodded at his case. "And will you promise me that you'll actually wear your glasses at school whenever you need them?"

Charlie nodded. "Dad made me swear in the car."

"Don't worry," Lee added. "It wasn't the f-word or c-word or anything like that."

"And you meant it?" Lucy searched her son's face. "We're counting on you, Charlie. You won't let us down?"

He gulped and smiled tremulously. "I won't."

"Good." She kissed his cheek and stood. "Come on, I've got dinner nearly ready. And you can have the last Maltesers brownie for pudding." She shot the twins a cold look. "I think you've earned it today."

Benji, Molly, and Lee all groaned in protest.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, Odysseus heard the sirens' call, but his men refused to untie him and kept the boat far from shore. Circe had warned Odysseus that the sirens would lead him to temptation. Why was it important that Odysseus keep away from the sirens?" Mr. Kingsley walked along the rows of desks containing his Year 4 English pupils at Oak Park Primary, looking from bored face to bored face.

"Because they had farty breath!" Charlie cried, causing his classmates to burst into laughter. He made a silly face before glancing across the room at Isabella Jenkins. She was smiling at him, giggling along with the rest of the class. Jake McKenzie, seated behind her, looked furious.

Mr. Kingsley rolled his eyes. "Very funny, McKinnon. Now, do you happen to have the actual answer?"

"Um…" Charlie squirmed in his seat. He'd not paid much attention to his teacher's boring plot summary of The Odyssey, his mind drifting aimlessly like so many of the other students' in the class. In contrast to most primary teachers, Mr. Kingsley's methods were 'old school,' and not very effective at sufficiently holding the attention of nine-year-old children.

"_I _know," Jake said snidely, raising his hand. "It was because if they rowed to the island, their ship would wreck on the rocks. Only an _idiot _wouldn't know that."

The teacher beamed. "Very good, McKenzie. I'm glad that at least someone's been paying attention."

Jake sat up and gazed at the back of Izzy's head, but she was writing a note on her desk, not paying him any mind.

"Now, why is Odysseus considered the hero of this story?" Kingsley stood at the front of the room and scanned his class.

"Um, because he escaped his prison?"

Kingsley nodded. "Yes, but…"

"He tricked a cyclops!"

"You're on the right track, Pearce…"

"Because the Greek gods couldn't destroy him?"

"Good answer, Patel…"

Charlie turned around as he felt a poke on his shoulder. He saw his classmate, Joshua, surreptitiously holding out a tiny, folded piece of paper underneath the desk. "From Izzy," he whispered.

Charlie took it, keeping one eye on the teacher all the while. He held it underneath his desk and cautiously unfolded it to read the message. He lowered his head, squinting to make out the small, pencilled print:

'_Dad said it was okay for me to come over and work on presentations tomorrow. See you by the water fountain outside Charles Darwin after class? Izzy x'_

Charlie smiled and looked over at Izzy. She was hiding her face from Mr. Kingsley with her palm, watching for Charlie's response. He masked his nod by pretending to pick his nose. She giggled delightedly.

"Miss Jenkins, do you have any ideas to share with the class?"

Her head whirled around as she snapped to attention, her short brown curls fanning out behind her. "I think Odysseus is a hero because he made it all the way home, even though a bunch of different things tried to stop him. He was able to turn a bad situation good by using what little he had to his advantage."

Kingsley pointed at her. "Excellent answer, Miss Jenkins. I want everyone to keep that in mind tonight as you answer these homework questions…" He turned around and began writing their assignment on the dry-erase board. A giant rustle of paper sounded behind him as the students hurriedly pulled out their notebooks and began copying the questions.

Charlie's pencil hovered uncertainly over his paper. He looked up at the board, blinking and squinting to try to make it out. The words were still too blurry to read. He turned and tried to decipher the cramped handwriting of Melek, seated at the desk beside him. The girl shot him a weird look and inched her paper away from him, covering it with her arm.

He sighed and looked back down at his desk. The case containing his glasses seemed to burn brightly at him, taunting him. Charlie frowned and looked back up at the board. He _could _just walk up there and read it after class, but then he wouldn't have time to meet up with Izzy. He turned back to the case, his shoulders slumping in resignation. Glancing around to make sure nobody was looking, he surreptitiously pulled his glasses out and slipped them on.

Instantly, the questions on the board sharpened into focus. He furiously began scribbling them down, anxious to finish before his classmates noticed him.

A crumpled piece of paper bounced off his head.

"Oi, four-eyes!"

Charlie looked over to see Jake grinning cruelly. "Nice specs. Where'd you get them from, Geeks 'R Us?"

All eyes fell on Charlie. His classmates started to snigger. A couple pointed, whispering, "what are those?" His face burned as he desperately tried to finish copying the assignment, doing his best to ignore them.

Another wad of paper smacked him on the brow. Charlie shot Jake a wounded look before hurriedly carrying on with his writing.

"Oh, crumbs! Is Penfold too scared to talk?" Jake raised his voice to a high, mocking pitch. A disparaging rumble of "crumbs!" buzzed throughout the classroom.

Mr. Kingsley turned around from the board and sternly faced the class. "That's enough, McKenzie! One more word and I'm reporting you to the headmaster!"

"Oooh," the class intoned. Jake instantly quieted but shot Charlie a triumphant smirk. Charlie frowned and turned his gaze to Izzy. She was staring intently at her desk, refusing to look at him. He turned back to his paper, shrinking down in his seat dejectedly.

The bell rang, signalling the end of English class. The students began gathering up their things and filing out of Jane Austen into the hall. "Don't forget about your autumn assembly presentations! If you haven't started on your essay yet, you're running out of time!" Mr. Kingsley called to their retreating backs.

Charlie quickly slipped off his glasses and dashed down towards Charles Darwin. To his dismay, he saw Izzy ahead of him pass right by the water fountain and continue down the hall. "Izzy!" He shouted. She put her head down and pretended not to hear him.

He pushed past some of his classmates and darted up beside her. "Izzy, you didn't stop! I thought you said to meet you by the fountain!"

"I'm sorry, I don't have time to talk," she murmured, still refusing to meet his gaze.

"Are you still coming over to mine after school tomorrow?"

She shrugged. "I guess so."

Charlie felt his steps grow heavier by the second. "Izzy, what's wrong?"

She stopped and lifted her eyes to his for the first time, the rest of Year 4 filing past her on the way to the cafeteria. She opened her mouth to speak, her gaze sad and withdrawn.

"Get lost, loser!"

Jake suddenly appeared between them, roughly shoving Charlie aside. Charlie looked over his shoulder, reaching out to catch himself on a table standing behind him. His blurry eyes misjudged the distance and he landed on the floor, his bottom smacking the ground with a hard thud.

Jake loomed over him, his arms folded. "Don't you see she doesn't want to talk to a nerd like you? Oh, that's right, you're blind. Eh, Penfold?"

Charlie frowned and tried to kick Jake in the shin. He missed by a few centimetres.

Jake took a step back and sneered contemptuously. "Ooh, I'm so scared. Better work on your kung moggy!"

Charlie wracked his brain, desperately trying to think of what his dad had told him to say. "Yeah? I know what I am, but your nan's bum is big!"

"Too bad you're so blind you need jam jars to see it!" Jake laughed and walked over to Izzy, who was standing apart from the boys with her head turned. He took her by the arm and led her into the cafeteria, calling, "shush, Penfold!" over his shoulder.

Charlie looked down at the floor, gutted. He blinked back tears, brushing his eyes against the sleeve of his uniform. His fingers tightened around the glasses case he still held in his hand as his face twisted with anger. He sullenly hurled it across the deserted hall, where it bounced off a chair and landed back on the floor beside him. The case popped open to expose the glasses, unharmed. Just as he lifted a foot to stomp on them, Miss Shepherd, the Year 4 science teacher, appeared.

"Charlie! Looks like you took a bit of a tumble." She held out her hand and helped haul him to his feet.

"Yeah. Thanks," the boy sniffed, picking up his books.

Miss Shepherd stooped to retrieve his glasses and handed them to him. "Are these yours?"

He hesitated before reluctantly taking them and shoving the case deep in his pocket.

"I'm glad your parents took my advice and had your eyes checked." Miss Shepherd searched his face. "You don't want to be straining to see the board during class. You could seriously damage your eyes, Charlie."

Charlie frowned and ducked his head. He moved off to follow his class into Winston Churchill.

"I'll see you with your new glasses, then, after lunch!" Miss Shepherd called.

"As if," Charlie muttered under his breath. After what had just happened, he was determined to never wear them again.


	5. Chapter 5

Lucy finished gathering the discarded toys arrayed around the living room and straightened. She tucked a stray tendril of her short brown hair behind her ear and turned towards the sofa. Charlie sat perched on the edge of his seat, squinting at a rugby match on the television screen. She frowned. "Shouldn't you be wearing your glasses to watch telly?"

"I can see fine, Mum," he murmured.

She set down the basket of toys and strolled up behind him, crossing her arms. "Right. What's the score, then?"

Charlie shrugged. "Three to two?"

"Try five-all." Lucy snatched up the remote and turned the television off.

Charlie groaned. _"Mu-um!"_

"I'm sorry, Charlie, but you're not watching telly unless you wear your glasses. Now, Izzy will be over soon to work on your presentations. Go put them on or I'll tell her she can't stay."

The boy's eyes widened in alarm. "But…but I can't! I lost them!"

Lucy fixed her son with a hard stare. "Oh, dear. Looks like you'd better find them before she shows up." She reached around into her back pocket and pulled out his glasses case.

With a nervous gulp, he quickly snatched it out of her hand. "Wow! Where'd you find them? I've been looking all over!"

"I used my special mum powers. We can find just about anything, sometimes without even looking." She gazed at the ceiling, her brow furrowed. "The only thing I wonder is what they were doing stashed in the bottom of Molly's sock drawer?"

"She stole them from me?" He offered meekly.

Lucy turned back to him coldly. "The other thing I wonder is why you knowingly went to school this morning without them and didn't say a word about it?"

Charlie looked down at his lap, turning the case over in his hands. "Right. Um. Well…"

"Charlie, you _promised _us you were going to wear them whenever you needed to."

He met her gaze plaintively. "I tried to! But everyone made fun of me! They said I looked like Penfold from Danger Mouse! I don't even know if Izzy's still going to come over, she won't even talk to me anymore! And it's all because I wore my stupid glasses!"

"Well, it's too bad that nobody likes your glasses, because they're just going to have to get used to them." She nodded at him. "Put them on."

"But Mum-!"

"Put. Them on. Now," she growled menacingly.

Charlie reluctantly removed his dark frames from the case and slipped them on.

"I'll take that," she snatched the case out of his lap and straightened.

"Hey!" He yelled, scrabbling after it.

"Sorry, Charlie. You obviously can't be trusted." She dropped the case into her purse and zipped it shut. "You're keeping your glasses on tonight. And if they happen to 'accidentally' break or get lost again, you can consider yourself grounded." She slipped on her coat and looked out the window as she heard wheels turning in the drive. "Oh, good. Your father's home. Molly!" She turned her head towards the stairs. "Can you come down here, please?"

Molly bounded downstairs just as Lee entered through the front door. He stopped short and looked over Lucy, dressed in her coat and holding her purse. "What, could you hardly wait till I got home to tell me you're leaving me?"

"Molly and I are going out to buy her costume for Amelia's party," Lucy murmured, helping the girl pull on her jacket. "Benji's at football practice. We'll pick him up on our way home. Charlie's expecting Izzy over at any minute to work on their assembly projects. I want you to keep an eye on him." She lowered her voice and leaned towards Lee conspiratorially. "Make sure he keeps his glasses on. He hid them this morning and pretended they were lost. Said it was because the kids were making fun of him at school. You might want to have a word, if you get a chance."

"Right." Lee nodded.

"We'll be off, then!" She stepped back and held her hand out for the car keys.

He tossed them to her. "How was your day, Lee? Oh, it was fine, thanks for asking. I think I might have thrown my back out again after leaning over an engine for half an hour with a right prick of a customer, and I ended up having to work so late I missed having dinner with my family, but it was fine, really."

"There's paracetamol in the bathroom cupboard and a plate of spaghetti bolognaise in the fridge." She laid her hands on his chest and quickly kissed his lips. "Sorry, darling. I'll make it up to you…eventually."

"Yeah, you can pencil me in sometime next month."

"Bye!" She hurried out the door, pulling Molly behind her.

"We're going costume shopping!" The girl chirped happily to her father in passing.

"Have fun!" Lee smiled and closed the door behind them. He strolled over towards the sofa, swinging his arms. "So, what's this I hear about you pretending to lose your glasses?"

Charlie looked away and shrugged.

Lee stopped before him and cocked his head. "Eh, four eyes?"

The boy paled, snapping his head around. "What?"

"You heard me, speccy. What sort of a loser goes around intentionally losing his own things?"

"I don't know," Charlie scoffed. "The sort of loser that cries over a bad back?"

"Good!" Lee nodded encouragingly. "Just how blind do you have to be to not realize you're only hurting yourself when you do things like that?"

"So blind I can't even see Jake McKenzie's stupid face," he grumbled.

"That's it, son!" Lee smiled down at the bespectacled boy. "What did I tell you about the bullies? You've got to beat 'em to the punchline!"

"I tried to, Dad, but it didn't work! Jake started calling me Penfold, and then everyone was doing it! They wouldn't stop, even after I took them off!"

"Sounds like you need to work on your Penfold impression, then." Lee folded his arms. "Remember what I said, Charlie: if you play along, the bullies won't think it's so fun, and you'll get everyone else laughing with you instead of at you."

"It's easy for you to say," Charlie mumbled, looking at the floor. "You don't have to see Jake McKenzie every day."

"I wish I did. I'd tell Jake McKenzie where to get off!"

Charlie hung his head. "And I don't think Izzy even likes me anymore."

Just then, the doorbell rang. Lee strode over and pulled it open. He smiled, casting a knowing look at his son. "Hello, Izzy. How nice of you to come by."

The girl smiled shyly. She stepped inside and set her rucksack on the floor as she removed her coat. "Hi, Charlie's dad."

Lee took her jacket and nodded at the chain hanging over the front of her sweater. "That's a really pretty locket you've got on."

The girl touched it. "My nana gave it to me for my birthday!"

"Wow, lucky you! My nan only ever gave me stale caramels and the burnt ends of her fags to smoke." He looked over at Izzy's mum, frowning in the doorway, and shot her a sheepish grin. "Fitting, considering she's just one giant pile of ashes now."

Izzy strolled over to Charlie, who'd risen from the sofa, as Lee exchanged phone numbers with Izzy's mum. "Hi."

Charlie thrust his hands into his pockets, shifting from foot to foot nervously. "Hi."

"You're wearing your glasses."

"Yeah." Charlie screwed his face up in an ugly expression. "Mum decided to get ready for Halloween early and made me dress up like a four-eyed freak."

She giggled softly, her mouth curled in a delighted smile.

Charlie flushed, feeling a thrill of exhilaration race through his veins. He cleared the remote control, a folded Walton Enquirer, and a copy of the Radio Times from the coffee table. "Want to work on our essays out here?"

"Yeah." She plopped down on the floor beside him and opened her bookbag.

Lee closed the door and turned towards the children. A small smile played across his lips at the sight of the pair huddled together over their papers. "Doesn't like you anymore, my arse," he murmured happily to himself.


	6. Chapter 6

A few minutes later, Lee descended the stairs. He'd changed out of his work clothes, swallowed a few paracetamol tablets, and traded his contact lenses for his spectacles. As he passed through the living room into the kitchen, Charlie caught sight of him and made a face. _"Da-ad!"_

"What?" Lee paused, lifting his head innocently.

Izzy looked up and gasped. "You're wearing glasses just like Charlie's!"

"Well, I just thought he was looking pretty cool tonight and figured I'd copy his look. Charlie's a real trendsetter in this house."

Charlie stared down at his paper, his face glowing bright red.

Izzy leaned forward inquisitively. "Are they _real, _though? Or are they just plastic?"

"What, these?" Lee removed his glasses and held them up. "No, they're the genuine article. I'm about as near-sighted as Mr. Magoo without them." He moved towards the kitchen, looking down to polish the lenses with his shirt. He smacked right into the doorframe, causing Izzy to burst into laughter.

Lee slipped his glasses back on. "Blimey, there's a wall there!" Grinning at the children, he comically stumbled his way into the kitchen.

Izzy turned to Charlie, still tittering. "Your dad is funny like you!"

"Yeah." Charlie finally allowed himself to smile. "He's all right."

"Didn't he light his fart onstage back in Year 2? That was _so _cool!"

Charlie laughed. "That was nothing! You should hear him after he's had a vindaloo!" He stuck his tongue out and began making loud farting noises. Izzy collapsed on the floor in stitches.

Out in the kitchen, Lee removed the cling film from his dinner plate and popped it in the microwave. As soon as he pressed the start button, the doorbell rang again. Rolling his eyes, he strode back towards the door. "Coming!"

When he passed by the children, Charlie was still humouring Izzy with his fart noises. He began timing them with Lee's strides, causing her to howl even harder. Lee shook his head at his son and pulled the door open. He frowned to see no one there.

"Hello. Is this Charlie McKinnon's house?"

Lee looked down to see an unremarkable boy with dirty blond hair gazing up at him. He was dressed in a Manchester United jersey and held a bag in his hands. Lee frowned. "Who are you?"

"I'm a friend. He's expecting me for the homework party."

"Right." Lee looked around the doorstep and out towards the drive. "You don't have any parents with you?"

"I came on my bike." The boy pointed to a cycle leaning against the side of the house. "Are you Charlie's dad?"

"Yeah." Shrugging, Lee stood aside and let him in.

"I thought so." As soon as the door shut behind him, he shot Lee a wicked smile. "You look like a member of the geek squad."

Lee narrowed his eyes. "Well, at least I'm not dressed for trick-or-treat two weeks early. I'd ditch the mask if I were you – it's a bit too scary."

"I'm not wearing one, stupid." Realisation slowly dawned on him as Lee softly began to chuckle. His expression turned thunderous. "Hey!"

Charlie and Izzy had leapt to their feet, gazing at him in astonishment. "Jake!"

"Thought I'd come over to work on presentations, too." He sauntered over to them and slung his bag down. "If that's all right?"

"No, it's not!" Charlie frowned, pointing towards the door. "Nobody wants you here, Jake! Just leave!"

The boy crowded against Charlie, sneering at him tauntingly. "Make me."

Charlie gazed into Jake's eyes for a long moment. Finally, heaving a huge sigh, he turned away. "I can't."

"Crumbs! Penfold's too scared to fight me!"

"Shut up, Jake," Izzy murmured coldly, staring down at her paper.

The bully promptly quieted, sitting down and pulling out his essay. The three scribbled away at their assignment in an uneasy silence.

"You all right, son?" Lee hovered uncertainly behind the couch.

Charlie nodded, not looking up. "Fine, Dad."

"Right. Well, if you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen. Okay?"

"Yeah."

Shaking his head, Lee disappeared into the next room.

As soon as he'd left, Jake snorted. "What a _loser!" _

Charlie looked up and frowned. "He is not!"

"Is too! My dad could beat yours up, easily!"

"No, he wouldn't! My dad isn't stupid enough to get in a fight in the first place!"

"Yeah, because he's a scared little hamster, just like you!" Jake grinned snidely. "Daddy Penfold and Baby Penfold, afraid of anything that moves!"

Charlie ducked his head. "No, we're not," he growled under his breath.

"Stop it!" Izzy scowled at Jake. "Can we just work on our papers, please?"

"Sure, Izzy. Just so long as Penfold over there stops whining."

Charlie said nothing, shooting Jake an angry glare.

Out in the kitchen, Lee pored over one of his opened textbooks while shovelling spaghetti into his mouth. He scribbled a few notes in the margin, murmuring to himself. He paused when he came to the end of the chapter and looked down at his plate. He was nearly finished. He sat up and listened alertly, frowning. Extended periods of quiet were few and far between for him, especially with children in the house. He stood to wash his plate in the sink, feeling uneasy. Silence, in his experience, usually meant trouble was afoot. The last time the house had fallen silent, Lee had snuck up on his children to find them smearing the inside of his jacket with marmite. Instead of punishing them, however, Lee had joined them in a contest of trying to say tongue twisters through a spoonful of marmite. Lucy had been left to scrub out his coat while the four of them lay prostrate with laughter on the floor.

Lee shut off the tap and snapped out of his reverie when he suddenly heard a scream. "I knew it," he muttered, dashing out into the living room.

He emerged to find Jake trying to pull Izzy to him by her locket. She resisted, digging in her feet and clinging to the edge of the coffee table. The two were locked in stasis, bound by the taught chain hanging from Izzy's neck. Charlie had jumped to his feet and was scowling at Jake.

"Let her go, Jake! She just said she didn't want to!"

"But she does want to read my paper, so she's going to have to sit by me!"

"I can see it from here!" She lifted a hand and pawed at him futilely. "Stop it, Jake! You're hurting me!"

"What's going on here?" Lee boomed from the doorway. The children all turned their heads in his direction. Jake took advantage of the opportunity to give one sharp tug on Izzy's locket. But, instead of pulling her to him, the chain snapped in two.

"Now look what you did!" She cried as tears began to fall from her eyes. "You broke it!"

Jake, for once, was speechless with embarrassment. He hurriedly set the locket on the table and fumblingly attempted to fix the chain. His rough, awkward handling caused the chain to break at a new spot. The silver, heart-shaped charm slid off and disappeared into the grey rug.

"Now you're making it worse!" Izzy sobbed.

"Shut up!" Jake looked down and frantically ran his hands over the rug, trying to locate the trinket.

"It's right here, stupid." Charlie, who could easily see the charm gleaming on the rug through his glasses, stooped and snatched it up.

"See, son? Four eyes can see better than two."

Charlie glanced over at his father before turning back to Jake. He smiled smugly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Lee marched over to Jake and held out his hand. "Give it here."

Jake hesitated, trembling with embarrassment. "I can-,"

"Give it here before you break it again!" Lee snatched the pieces of chain out of Jake's hand and gestured for Charlie to follow him. "Come along and bring your piece. This is a job that calls for precision."

Charlie hurried after his father through the kitchen and into the garden. The silently fuming Jake and the still-tearful Izzy fell in behind them.

Lee allowed Charlie into the shed with him before promptly shutting the door on the other two children. He grabbed a torch off the workbench and clicked it on before clearing a place. "All right, son. How good are you with puzzles?"

Charlie shot his dad a contemptuous look. "Really? I was the first one in my class to beat The Witness without a walkthrough!"

"Is that good?" Lee shook his head and gingerly dropped the chains on the workbench. He pointed to them. "Piece that together the way it's supposed to look."

He turned and shined the torch into the cluttered corners of the shed, rummaging around for his toolbox. Charlie leaned over the table and slipped the charm through one of the pieces before carefully arranging the links in a circle, matching the broken links with one another.

Lee turned around, holding a pair of needle-nose pliers. "You did it already?"

"Uh, yeah." Charlie furrowed his brow. "It's not rocket science, dad."

"Maybe not, but this is going to be fiddly as hell." Lee held the torch over the necklace and nodded for Charlie to take it. "I need you to keep the light right there for me."

The boy did as he was told as his father knelt over the workbench. Lee did his best to keep his hands steady while he worked, squinting through his specs while trying to re-join the tiny links. It was slow, tedious work. Charlie's arm quickly tired of holding the torch. Lee's hands would slip from time to time, despite his best efforts. Silence fell over the intently concentrating pair, with the only words being an occasional curse from Lee, followed by a prompt, "don't tell your mother."

Several minutes passed.

"Dad, my arm's tired. I can't hold this up anymore," Charlie moaned.

"I'm almost there, son. Hang in there just…a lit-tle…long – a ha!" Lee stood up with alacrity, the reconstituted locket lying in his palm.

Charlie promptly dropped the torch, grinning in relief. "You did it, Dad!"

Lee smiled down at his son and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "No, _we _did it. And we'd have been hopeless without these." He adjusted his glasses. "The gog-eyed geeks got it done."

Charlie copied his father's movements and smiled up at him proudly.

Lee opened the shed door and stepped towards Izzy and Jake. He held the locket out to the girl on his outstretched palm. "Here you are, Izzy. Good as new."

She gasped in delight, delicately taking it from him. "Thanks, Charlie's dad!"

"Don't thank me, thank Charlie." Lee stepped aside and nodded at his son. "He did most of it. I just held the torch."

Izzy shyly walked towards him. She undid the clasp and held both ends out to Charlie. "Can you put it back on me?"

Charlie glanced uneasily in Jake's direction. But the bully was being led by the arm towards the house, Lee demanding the number of his parents.

Izzy turned around and held her hair up away from her neck. Charlie fumblingly brought the ends up around her throat and closed the clasp. He was surprised at how effortless the task was when he could actually see what he was doing.

"Thanks, Charlie." Izzy whirled around to face him, looking down at her locket. She touched it in awe. "I don't know how you fixed it. I thought it was broken for good!"

"It was nothing," he mumbled, kicking at the tops of the grass.

"No, it wasn't." She met his gaze, her eyes shining. "You were just like Odysseus, using what little you had to save the day!"

Charlie scoffed. "Yeah. If Odysseus looked like Penfold, maybe."

"Can I tell you something?"

He shrugged. "What?"

"I like the way you look in your glasses."

He met her gaze in bafflement. "But…but I thought you hated them. You wouldn't hardly talk to me at school!"

"Everyone was making fun of you at school. I was afraid, if I said what I thought, that everyone would make fun of me, too." She looked down in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Charlie. I should have been braver, like you."

"I'm not brave."

"Yes, you are." She lifted her head, smiling. "You're brave, and you're funny, and you're smart, and I'm glad that you're my friend."

His eyes lit up hopefully. "Even if everyone makes fun of my glasses?"

"_Especially _because of your glasses!" She giggled. "I like you, Charlie."

He reddened, going stock still. "I like you, too."

Lee, who'd been watching the pair from the kitchen window, smiled as he saw Izzy lean forward and kiss Charlie's cheek. No sooner had she done so than she playfully shoved his shoulder and tore off across the garden. The boy chased after her, laughing. Lee turned away from the window and faced the penitent boy seated at the dining room table. "Now tell me, Jake," he said, pitching his voice high in an uncannily accurate impression, "just what is it do you have against Penfold?"


	7. Chapter 7

Lee emerged from the bathroom and descended the stairs to find Lucy bustling about.

"Oh, good, Anna's here to watch the twins." She turned from the living room window and looked around. "Benji! Molly! We're leaving!"

"Already?" Lee frowned as Lucy handed him his coat. "What's the rush? I only just got dressed!"

"Charlie needs to have time to put on his costume once we get there."

"Why can't he put it on now?"

"I guess we'll find out." She turned to him and grinned. "He wants it to be a 'big surprise' for everyone."

"Right." Lee pushed his glasses up his nose and began pulling on his jacket. From the moment he'd arrived home, he'd been reeling from Lucy's sense of urgency. She'd thrown him his clothes as soon as he'd walked in the door with a curt, "put these on." When had been the last time he'd heard a proper 'hello?' Lee shook his head.

"Charlie, get your shoes on! We're leaving!" Lucy cried as Charlie zipped through the room and clambered upstairs.

"I've just got to get my essay, Mum!"

"Well, hurry up!"

Lee watched him go and shot his wife a quizzical glance. "What's he doing with his glasses on?" He reached up and lifted his own frames demonstratively.

She shrugged. "I don't think I've seen them off his face since he woke up this morning. When I asked him about it, he said it was easier to just wear them all the time instead of constantly slipping them on and off."

Benji poked his head around the kitchen doorframe. "It's because _Izzy _thinks they're cute!" He stuck his tongue out teasingly.

Lee nodded, smiling. Lucy's eyes lit up. "Does she? I knew I liked her for a reason!"

The doorbell rang and Lee reached over to pull it open. "Hi, Anna." He flashed her a faux grin. "Welcome to the mad house. Don't worry, you should feel right at home."

She scowled at him and stepped inside. "Sorry I'm late. Toby was on call at the hospital all day and the traffic getting home was absolutely dreadful!"

"Thanks for agreeing to come over and stay with the twins." Lucy smiled at her friend gratefully.

"Oh, I should be the one thanking you! Any chance to spend an evening without Toby is a welcome one, as far as I'm concerned."

"I'm sure Toby's just as grateful, too," Lee murmured.

Anna turned to him and paused, her brows furrowing. "I didn't know you wore glasses, Lee."

He narrowed his eyes. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me. I've got a lot more pages to my book than you've ever reckoned."

Anna sniffed. "More than a double-sided sheet of A4, then?"

Lee glowered.

"I forgot you've never seen him without his contact lenses in." Lucy grinned. "He's been wearing his glasses more often ever since Charlie got his pair."

"Oh." Anna set her purse down on the sofa and shot Lee a mangled attempt at a smile. "How…quaint."

Charlie barrelled down the stairs, holding a folder in one hand. "Mum, where's my costume? I can't find it anywhere!"

"It's already in the boot." Lucy held his coat out to him. "Come on, or you're not going to have enough time to even put it on!"

"Did you get the things I texted you about last night?"

She sighed. "Yes, it's all there. You're lucky Molly and I hadn't left the costume shop by the time I got your message."

"Great." The boy hurriedly slipped on his jacket and turned from one parent to the other. "What's everyone waiting for? Let's go!"

* * *

"Hold on, Lucy!" Lee held a hand up. "I need to go to the toilet first."

His wife rolled her eyes and continued down the hall towards Robin Hood, the assembly room. "Why didn't you go before we left?"

"I didn't have time, did I? You hurried me out the door so fast I hardly knew what hit me." He looked around for the restrooms, then turned his head in alarm as he realized Lucy was going on without him. He hastened after her. "Lucy! Wait!"

"I want to try to get us some good seats!" She called over her shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll find me!"

"But I don't know where I'm going!"

He groaned when Lucy shot him a fleeting wave and disappeared from view. He slowed his steps a fraction, looking at the autumnal artwork the children had hung up in the corridor. Hang on, was that Benji's scrawl under that drawing? He pushed his glasses farther up his nose and opened his eyes to focus, head turned in the direction of the picture.

"Oi!" He tripped right over a man who'd stooped in the hallway to pick something up. Lee popped back up on his feet and scowled down at the hunched form. "A bit of warning would have been nice! Why didn't you say something, you oaf? I could've stove me head in just now!"

The large, hulking man drew himself up to his full height. Though Lee was no slouch at a full six feet, the man's head and shoulders towered over him. The burly figure shoved the glove he'd retrieved back in his pocket and crossed his arms. "What'd you say to me?"

Lee gulped. "I…didn't say anything…I…"

"An oaf, am I?" The man grabbed the front of Lee's shirt and hauled him onto his toes. "I think Mr. Magoo needs to watch where he's going!"

"I couldn't agree more," Lee tittered nervously. "I was in your way, you weren't in mine. Did I say oaf? I meant to say loaf, as in loaf of bread. I was just trying to read over the shopping list my wife gave me when I tripped-,"

"Huh?!" The man roared, shaking Lee violently.

"Please don't hurt me," he squeaked, shutting his eyes in a grimace.

His assailant laughed, releasing Lee with such force that he stumbled backwards and fell into a chair. "Stay out of my way, Penfold!" He called contemptuously, storming away.

"Penfold?" Lee shook his head and slowly clambered to his feet. "Oh, God," he muttered, realizing the encounter had made him wee himself a bit. He caught sight of a kid dressed as a lion and stopped him, one hand covering his crotch. "Simba! Which way to the watering hole?"

* * *

"…I am the top goal scorer in FIFA World Cup history. I also share the world record for the most FIFA World Cup final goals. I am the only player ever to score in eight consecutive major tournaments: the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 European Championships and the 2006, 2010, 2014…"

Lucy sighed in boredom and turned towards her husband. Lee sat next to her with his arms folded, softly dozing in his seat. She elbowed him in the side.

Lee's eyes flew open as he sat forward. "I'm awake." His face fell as he caught sight of Jake McKenzie on the stage, dressed in his Man U uniform and holding a football under his arm. "Is he _still_ going?"

"Shh!" She scolded softly. "He's got to be nearly finished. They're going in alphabetical order, so Charlie must be on next."

"Right." Lee pulled his mobile out and set up his camera to record video. He passed it over to Lucy. "Here, you record it. You've got a better view than me."

She took it, shooting him an annoyed look. "I don't know what you're so tired for. You missed the entire first half of the class. I had to sit here through about fifteen presentations all by myself before you finally decided to show up!"

"I told you, I got lost on my way back from the lavs," Lee hissed. "It's all these cutesy names they've got for the rooms around here. I can't get my head around it. And it just feels a bit wrong asking for the way into Robin Hood. It sounds like I'm looking for a way past his tights!"

She meekly caught the glares of a few disgruntled parents sitting around them and shushed him again before turning back to face the stage.

"…My achievements are superhuman. Everyone at Manchester United, Real Madrid, and the entire nation of Portugal consider me their hero for the honours I have won them. I am the greatest football player in the world, and that makes me, Cristiano Ronaldo, the greatest superhero in the world. Thank you." Jake stepped away from the microphone as the auditorium rang with polite applause.

The burly man who'd accosted Lee in the hallway leapt to his feet. "Way to go, son! U-N-I-T-E-D! United are the team for me!" He whooped, pumping his fist towards the stage.

Lee glanced at him and shook his head. _Of course, _the guy was Jake McKenzie's dad! Why wouldn't he be? He rolled his eyes and slumped down in his seat to avoid catching the man's notice.

Mr. Kingsley stepped onto the stage, bringing the applause to a close. "Very informative, Ronaldo. Next up is Mr. McKinnon."

Lucy excitedly lifted the phone and pressed the record button. Lee sat up in expectation, then suddenly did a double-take as his miniature doppelganger walked onstage. He looked down at his clothes before looking back at his son. The boy was dressed in the same bright red button-down and dark jeans that he was. He'd brushed his hair over his forehead and combed it up into a spiky fringe that mirrored his father's. He'd donned a dark costume beard that looked surprisingly lifelike, trimmed to match the shape of Lee's whiskers. And, of course, he was wearing his black-rimmed, rectangular glasses that were identical to Lee's own.

Lee quickly turned to his wife, still reeling from the shock. "Did you know about this?" He whispered.

She nodded, smiling happily. "Isn't he your spitting image?"

"Image? I'm not entirely convinced that isn't me up there and I'm really someone else!"

"My name is Lee McKinnon," Charlie read from his paper into the microphone, arresting his parents' attention. "Most people just know me as Charlie's dad. I grew up in the north of England and I work in town as a car salesman, but that's not what's important about me." He glanced up at the audience, meeting his father's gaze. "I'm a hero because I try hard to be the person I want my kids to be." He turned back to his paper. "I've lived a crazy life and I've made a lot of mistakes. I left school when I was fifteen because I didn't take it seriously enough. I know that to go anywhere in life, you have to have a good education, and I want my kids to know that, too. So, at fifty, I'm earning my GCSEs through night courses offered by the council. I hope Charlie sees how hard I am working for my test scores and doesn't make the same mistake I did by leaving school too early."

Lucy tried not to tremble as she held the mobile aloft, recording her son. She could hardly contain her pride and affection. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lee lift a hand to brush away a tear.

"I also know how to be funny. It's gotten me out of a lot of trouble. I like being able to make my kids laugh with my silly jokes and my farty bottom. Laughter makes people feel better, and I always want to cheer up the people around me. It's important to see the funny side of a situation, especially if you're being bullied." Charlie subconsciously touched his glasses. "I became the class clown when I was bullied at school, so that everyone would start laughing with me instead of at me. I was a total loser, but my sense of humour helped me feel accepted. My kids have learned to be funny by watching me and I hope they also use being funny to help, not hurt.

"I always try to find my way out of trouble. I'm not very successful, and I usually end up just making a situation worse, but that doesn't keep me from trying to do what I think is the right thing. Sometimes I misjudge that, too, but I listen to my friends and family to learn what I did wrong and try to do better the next time. It's important to keep improving yourself, learning from your mistakes, and making the best decisions. I want my kids to see what I do, not only so they don't make the same stupid decisions, but so they learn to always try to be better people."

Charlie glanced out at the audience. "I'm not really a superhero. I don't save lives, and I don't have special powers. I'm not famous, and I'm not very accomplished. I'm just a normal dad who wants the best for his children. But my son looks up to me. He sees the amazing things I've done and not taken credit for. He knows about how brave I had to be on the night I became a father, even though I never told him. Since that day, I've tried my best not to let him down." He met his father's gaze again. "And I haven't. My son wants to be just like me when he grows up, because I'm his hero. My name is Lee McKinnon, and I'm the best dad Charlie could ever wish for."

Lee and Lucy leapt to their feet as the audience started applauding. They whistled and cheered as Charlie bowed, their faces shining with love. A number of parents and teachers turned their heads towards the couple and smiled when they saw the man dressed identically to the child on the stage. The applause lasted long after Charlie walked back behind the curtain. Lee and Lucy didn't take their seats until Mr. Kingsley reappeared, motioning for everyone to stop. "All right, all right. Thank you, Mr. McKinnon. Next up is Mr. Fahad Patel as Mahatma Gandhi…"

But Lee hardly heard him. He'd risen from his seat and slipped out of the assembly room, despite Lucy's whispered protestations. He darted up the hall, calling his son's name. It took him a few wrong turns and a bit of doubling back before he finally found the door that led him backstage. Charlie was stood with his back to him, softly chatting to Izzy in her Supergirl getup. "Charlie!" He hissed.

"Dad!" The boy whirled around and darted towards him. Lee stepped back into the hall and scooped his son up into his arms. He spun him around before carefully setting him back on the ground, hugging him tightly.

"Did you like my presentation?" Charlie's muffled voice asked from against his shirt.

"Like it? Oh, Charlie…" Lee sniffed, letting the tears fall from his eyes. He squeezed the boy to him. "I know you…but I didn't…I didn't know you knew…"

"It's okay, Dad." Charlie tentatively patted his father's back and clutched at his neck. "You didn't need to. That's why you're the best dad ever."

Lee drew a deep sigh, curtailing his sobs and brushing his face against Charlie's shoulder. "I love you so much, son."

"I love you, too, Dad."

Lee relaxed his grip and smiled, glad that his glasses obscured his red-rimmed eyes. He looked the boy over appraisingly. "That's a pretty good-looking beard you've got there."

"Mum cut it to look like yours, and the drama teacher helped me put it on with spirit gum." Charlie jutted his chin out proudly. His resemblance to Lee's own face was so uncanny that it still unnerved him a bit. "Do you think I'll have a real one like yours someday?"

"If you're anything like me, not for a long time yet. I couldn't grow a proper beard for shit until I was thirty." He frowned a little. "Now, who told you about what happened the night you were born?"

"Everyone." Charlie shrugged. "Mum, Granddad Frank, Aunt Daisy, Jack's parents…"

Lee chuckled. "Everyone except me, then?"

"Why didn't you say anything? Dad, you were an action hero!"

"I didn't feel like one." Lee regarded his son soberly. "I was absolutely petrified. Not just of the gunman. But of you."

"Me?" Charlie wrinkled his nose. "But I was just a baby! What could I do?"

"I don't know. Look at me with your accusing eyes and blame me for everything that goes wrong in your life, just like I did?" He smiled sadly. "My dad was hardly ever around, especially when I needed him most. I didn't know the first thing about being a father. I was afraid I was going to screw up and ruin your life. And I did, a bit, didn't I?" He lowered his head and touched his black frames. "Sorry about the rum eyesight."

"It's not a big deal. I even like my glasses now, thanks to you." Charlie smiled and fiddled with his frames. "You saved the day yesterday, just like you saved the day when I was born. You've been my hero since the very beginning, and you'll always be my hero."

"No pressure, then," Lee quipped worriedly. "I'll try not to blow the lid off."

"You've done okay so far. Why stop now?"

"You're right." Lee hugged Charlie once more before releasing him. "Why stop now?"

Izzy appeared in the doorway, smiling shyly at the pair. Lee caught sight of her and pushed Charlie in her direction. "I'll see you later, son."

Charlie shuffled over to Izzy, who immediately took his hand. He looked over his shoulder at his father, frowning in embarrassment.

Lee turned away and headed back down the hall. At the sound of a giggle, he looked over his retreating back. Charlie, assuming his father's posture, was expertly miming him from behind, much to Izzy's delight. He puffed his cheeks out and crossed his eyes when he caught sight of Lee looking at him. He stopped walking in place and put his fists on his hips. "Crikey O'Reilly!" He boomed, imitating Lee's broad Lancashire accent. Izzy curled against him and licked his face. She laughed at Charlie's look of disgust.

"Look out, son! You've been infected with the dreaded lurgy!"

Lee ducked his head and started running down the hall as Charlie chased after him.


	8. Chapter 8

"…Heroism is not something chosen; it is something assigned by someone else. My colleagues and I don't consider ourselves heroes for simply doing our job. We just did what needed to be done. And that's all heroes really are: normal people who do what they need to do. Everyone in this room is capable of heroism, and I think these bright young faces standing behind me are all heroes for the excellent presentations we've heard this evening." The EMT gestured to Charlie's costumed class, arrayed in a line behind her on the stage. She smiled at them while the audience politely applauded. "You should all feel proud of the work you've done.

"Now," she looked down at her notes, "as for the child who goes home with the top prize of a brand-new e-reader, I listened to what you all had to say, and I very carefully considered each of your arguments for why you're the best superhero. It's quite difficult, having to choose from such a diverse lot. How do you even compare Mother Theresa with Peter Parker?"

The audience tittered.

"But the winner I've selected embodies heroism the way I understand it. Someone who was just a normal person, doing their best the only way they know how. Someone who wasn't even aware that someone else would consider them heroic. Someone who shows all of us that we don't need a cape or publicity to be a hero; that we are all capable of being heroes in our day-to-day lives." She turned around behind her and smiled right at Charlie. "The winner is our little dad, Lee McKinnon!"

Lucy shrieked and jumped to her feet, clapping frantically, as the audience erupted into cheers. Lee stood and applauded beside her, smiling at his son proudly. He caught sight of Jake's dad shooting him an incredulous glare from the corner of his eye. "Way to go, lad! Get in, you little hamster!" He called out triumphantly in his high-pitched Penfold voice.

Charlie calmly stepped forward and shook the EMT's hand. He posed politely for the school photographer before accepting the boxed-up device.

Mr. Kingsley walked onstage and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well done, Charlie, and everyone up here. I appreciate the effort you've all put into your presentations." He turned towards the parents as the lights came up in the assembly room. "Thank you all for coming out tonight. The PTA is serving refreshments in the back for all who wish to partake of them."

Charlie hopped off the stage with the rest of his class and ran up to his parents. "Can you believe it? I won!" He cried happily.

Lucy took the Kindle from his hands and set it on her seat. "Darling, I'm so proud of you!" She stooped down and hugged him. "You were brilliant!"

"I couldn't have written my essay without Dad," Charlie replied, smiling at his father.

Lee shook his head. "It was all in the writing, son. You made me sound a lot smarter than I am."

Lucy looked from her husband to her son. She reached out and touched Lee's arm, holding Charlie close. "Look at you two!" She shook her head lovingly. "Perfectly alike!"

"Yeah, aren't you lucky? You got two of us for the price of one!" Lee looked down at Charlie, whose head only came up to his waist. "Well, one and a half."

"I think _you're _lucky I'm so partial to silly, goggy-eyed geeks. I have to have more than just one." She beamed, shoving Charlie towards his father. "Come on. Time for some photos."

Charlie groaned. "Mum!"

Lee motioned for him to hop up on the bench so that the pair were the same height. He propped himself against his son's shoulder, gazing at him thoughtfully. "You know, we could tour the UK together as the incredible shrinking man!"

Lucy snapped the photo.

Lee folded his arm and held his chin with his other hand, gazing off into the distance. Charlie copied his pose. "Or maybe as a double act. Lee and my shadow?"

Lucy could hardly contain her smile, grabbing a few more photos.

Lee nodded to Charlie and they stood back to back, pulling grotesque expressions.

"There's those ugly faces I know and love!" Lucy laughed.

"We're going to have to start pulling the old switcheroo whenever we've got guests round." Lee turned to face Charlie and pretended to straighten the boy's collar. Charlie did the same to Lee. "Or maybe a Freaky Friday. I'll be you and attend Year 4 while you can be me and go to work. You can take my GCSEs while you're at it. You make a better me than I do."

Charlie's eyes lit up. "Yeah!"

"No." Lucy looked up from her phone and gestured for the two to hug. "Get close."

Lee and Charlie threw their arms around each other, smiling happily for the camera.

"Perfect!" Lucy sighed, fervently blinking back tears. She eventually lowered her mobile and shook her head proudly. "My two handsome men." She stepped forward and enveloped them both, turning her head to give first Lee, then Charlie a peck on the cheek. She squeezed them once more before reluctantly releasing them. "Don't they look adorable in their little matching outfits?" She looked down, addressing the question to Izzy, who'd suddenly appeared beside her.

The girl stared at the floor, trying to mask her delighted smile. She bobbed her head. "Uh huh," she murmured softly.

Charlie leapt down from the bench to stand in front of her. He teetered on one foot, wobbling dangerously as he sought to regain his balance. This time, however, he didn't topple over. He corrected himself and grinned. "A-ha! Pride doesn't always come before a fall!"

Izzy looked up at him shyly. "Well done, Charlie. I just knew you'd win. You were amazing!"

Charlie blushed. "More amazing than the Amazing Spider-Man?"

She giggled. "I guess so! You _did _beat him, after all!"

The two walked off towards a group of their classmates, hand in hand. Lucy rested her head on Lee's shoulder and watched them go sadly. "Our baby boy looks so grown up."

"I thought you said he looked like me?"

She closed her eyes and smiled. "You're right. He has to be one or the other."

Lee sighed. "Come on." He wound his arm around her and led her off towards the food table.

* * *

A short while later, Lee was filling a paper plate with nibbles when a shadow suddenly fell across the table.

"Hey, Penfold."

Lee froze. He gulped before slowly turning around to face Mr. McKenzie. "Yeah?" He squeaked nervously.

The man stared at him for a moment before looking away bashfully, lowering his voice. "Is it true, then, what your boy said? 'Bout you taking them council classes?"

Lee nodded apprehensively.

"How is it? I mean, is it a lot of work, or…"

A smile slowly spread across Lee's face. "You're thinking about signing up?"

"Maybe. Been considering it. I never finished school either, and it might be nice to finally, you know…"

"Yeah, I do." Lee nodded. "What's holding you back?"

"I work nights at the shopping centre. Security detail. Going to night school would mean I'd have to transfer to the afternoon shift." McKenzie looked down at his hands. "And I don't know if it would be worth it. You know, if it was too difficult or something. I was a rubbish student."

"So was I!" Lee shook his head. "Don't worry. Everyone in the classes are in the same boat as you. I didn't think I was going to hack it at first, but it was amazing how fast I got stuck in…"

Lee fell into a rapt discussion of his coursework, McKenzie hanging on his every word. Across the room, Jake stared at the parents before turning back to Charlie. "I guess your dad isn't such a loser, after all."

"I told you he wasn't!" Charlie thrust out his whiskered chin proudly. "Even if he is a bit like Penfold!"

Jake looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry for making fun of you," he mumbled, "you know, for being blind and clumsy…"

"I know what you are, but what am I?"

Jake lifted his head, smiling a little, and gave a short, approving nod. "You're all right, Charlie."

"Of course, you're all right!" Izzy squeezed his hand and smiled admiringly at him. "Wearing glasses isn't just for losers! Anyone can wear them." She surveyed her nearby classmates. _"I _think Charlie looks brilliant!" She declared proudly.

Charlie turned his head in embarrassment, looking back towards the refreshment table. His father, who'd jokingly shoved a couple of quavers in front of his teeth to resemble fangs, pulled a cheesy wotsit from his nose and dangled it in front of his wife's face. She shrieked and slapped him away.

Charlie laughed, smiling at his dad in veneration. "Even superheroes wear glasses."


	9. Chapter 9

Lee entered the bedroom and walked around to his side of the bed, trying not to disturb his wife. She glanced up from the book she was reading and shot him a playful smile. "Well if it isn't the hero of the hour!"

"Come off it, Luce." Lee crawled in beside her and regarded her soberly. "I'm no hero. I haven't done anything!"

"Lee, two days ago, we had to practically use force to make Charlie wear his glasses. Now, we can hardly get him to take them off!"

He smiled softly. "Just call me the geek whisperer."

She leaned over and rested a hand on his shoulder, kissing his cheek. "I was proud of you tonight."

Lee wrinkled his nose. "What for? Charlie did all the work. I had no idea he was going to be me for his presentation."

"Exactly." Lucy patted his arm. "You must be doing something right for Charlie to write and deliver an essay like that all on his own." She sat back, regarding him affectionately. "He's so like you, Lee. He idolises the ground you walk on. I should think you'd be over the moon with that!"

"I am." Lee looked down at the comforter, wringing his hands. "I'm over the moon, past Jupiter, and running rings around Uranus." He turned towards her worriedly. "I'm also absolutely shitting myself."

"It's a good thing you're orbiting Uranus, then." She reached over and stilled his hands. "Don't worry about disappointing him, Lee. Just keep doing what you're doing."

"How?" Lee's brow furrowed. "Lucy, I have no idea what I'm doing!"

"Neither do I." She smiled encouragingly. "I'm just as new to parenthood as you are. Of course, we've made mistakes, and we're bound to make some more. Especially with Charlie, since he's our first. But we don't have to be perfect parents. The best we can manage will be enough."

"It's easy for you to say," Lee murmured. "Your parents raised you proper, so you've got a point of reference. And your mum's only a phone call away if you don't know what to do. I'm making this up as I go along!"

"That just makes what happened tonight all the more impressive." Lucy sat up and drew him to her. She stroked the back of his head, resting her forehead against his. "You're a natural, you know. Our children adore you. You always know exactly what to say and do to put a smile on their faces. I think having a blank template worked to your advantage. It allowed you to become the father you wished you always had." She planted a soft, lingering kiss on his lips.

"What, present?" He smiled.

Lucy laughed and moved away, turning to grab her alarm clock from the bed stand. "Speaking of presence, I just remembered I have to get up early to deal with that load of laundry from Molly's little 'present' earlier this evening."

"You don't have to. Everything's clean and folded up in the hamper. I took care of it while you were in the bath."

She shot him an impressed look. "Charlie's right. You really _are _Super Dad!"

Lee rested against the pillows and watched her as she resumed reading her book. He cleared his throat, absently playing with his thumbs. "So, Charlie got a brand-new Kindle out of this little glasses debacle. Where's my reward?"

"You don't need one, remember? You're Super Dad."

"Even superheroes have needs, Lucy."

She arched a brow playfully, still looking at her book. "Oh? What did you have in mind?"

Wordlessly, he snuggled against her and began kissing her neck. Lucy bit back a smile, feeling a familiar thrill race through her at the sensation of his whiskered mouth against her skin.

"What do you say?" He breathed, nuzzling her shoulder.

"Hmm." She grinned, never taking her eyes from the page. "No."

Lee sat back, pouting in mock frustration. He turned towards his night stand and grabbed his glasses. He slipped them on and faced Lucy again, smiling. "How about now?"

She promptly tossed her book aside and threw herself down on the pillows. "Take me, Super Daddy."

Lee fell upon her passionately as he threw the comforter over them.

THE END


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